Golf practice device



May l8, 1948. w. s. SEELEY, JR 2,441,547 v GOLF PRACTICE DEVICE Filed Oct. 29, 1945 Warren 5. Seeley, JR,

INVENTOR.

fliiorne ys bazeaww I Patented May 18, 1948 UNITED PATENT OFFICE v,1 GOLFIPRAGTICE nnvrca r v V 'Warrn SgSeeley, Jr.',Chicago, n1.

Application October 29, 1945, Serial N; 625,261

*l-Clalin: (Cl; 273-35) This invention relates to. practicedevices such as are particularly useful in the practice of the game of golf. I I a In playing the game of golf, it is important that the hands of the player be kept close to the body of the player in the course of swinging the club particularly in making the longer shotsin the game of golf for so to do insures greater accuracy in the flight of the ball and enables the full power of the swing of the 'clubto be impressed upon the ball. It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to afford a 'deviceiwhichlwillfacilitate the player of the game of golf -de'velopinga swing of the club that will entail keeping the hands of the player close to his body in" the course of swinging the club. I

Yet other objects of this'invention are to provide a device of the aforesaid character that may be utilized by a player at any suitable place where sufficient space is afforded to enable a complete swing of a golf club to be effected; to so arrange the device that it will be capable oi use'byplayers of difi'erent heights; to so arrange the devicethat it may be quickly erected in condition for use and yet be disassembled and packaged in a compactmanner; and to afford a, device of simple'andeconomical construction and which will be 'efficient and simple in use.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparentirom the following descrip- I tion and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which, by way of illustration, shows a preferred'emb'o'diment and the principles thereof and what I now-consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other" embodiments of'the invention embodying the same or equivalentprinciple may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled the art without departing-from the present'invention and thetpurview of the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing the'manner in which thedevi-ce of this=invention is'to be used;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device as illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the device, drawn to a relatively enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 on Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 on Fig. 4; I

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the base of the device; and

' Fi '7 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1-4 on Fig. 3.

' The' selected embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawing comprises apost 8 which advantageously may be circular in cross section and which is preferably of. such height as to have the upper end thereof ."diSDOSGd slightly above the knees of a person of average height. A pin 9, in the form of a metallic'or wooden peg, is driven into the, lower end of the post'8 and preferably includes a sharpened outer end ill, the pin 9 desirably extendingwell: beyond the lower end of thepost 8. 'In order to facilitate maintaining the post .8 in verticalposition in use, resort is desirably had to a base II, which like the post 3, may be circular in outline. The base i I, in the present instance, has a centrally located openingv 12 extended therethrough between the opposite fiat faces thereof. When the device is to beput to use the pin 9 is passed through the opening l2 and the sharpened end ll] of the pin 9 is forced into the ground desirably at a fiat place where sufiicient space is afforded to enable the golf club to be swung in the customary manner.

One or more openings as I3 are formed in the post 8 near the upperend thereofand, as best shown in'Figs. 3 elicit, the openings l3 are preferably extendedinto the post 8 so as to be inclined downwardly when the postt is erected in verti- -'cal position. 'Anarm M is provided which is shaped in cross section to be complimentary to the outline of the openings [3, such arm and 'openingsin the present instance being circular in. "outline." As best shown in Figs. 1', 3 and 5, one end of the arm I4 is passed into. one of the openings l3,and in this respect it is desirable that more 'than'one opening. is be provided so that the device may be used by persons of varying heights.

Thus since the openings l3 areinclined when. one end of the arm I4 is inserted thereinto, \thearm I' l projects from the post 8 so as to, be. inclined upwardly therefrom and desirably the .free end of the post M is disposed in such position as to be be inserted into the lowermost of the openings i3;

Inasmuch as it is intended that the hands of the user are to move past the outer free end of the arm M in the use of the device, I have found it advantageous to provide a flexible member l5 at the outer end of the arm l4 and in the present instance a section of rubber tubing is employed, one end of this rubber tubing being passed over the outer free end of the arm [4, as best shown in Fig. 3, so that most of the extent of the flexible member l5 projects beyond the free end of the arm I 4. As best illustrated in Fig. 1, it is the free end of the flexible member I 5 that is arranged to be disposed so that when the hands of the user of the device are moved relative to the flexible member l5, the hands will move past the free end of such flexible member.

In use the pin 9 is passed through the opening 4 a golf club rearwardly, the present device quickly enables the player to develop the proper swing of a golf club so as to enable him to impress the full power of the swing of a golf club on a golf ball and yet insure accurate flight of the ball.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the device of the present invention may be quickly assembled and conditioned for use or disassembled, and when this is done, that the parts may be arranged in a relatively compact manner so as to facilitate storage and transportation of the device of this invention. Hence it l2 and the sharpened end It! is forced into the ground to thereby support the post 8 in vertical position. The flexible member [5 is then mount:

ed on one end of the arm (4 and the opposite end of the arm [4 is inserted into a selected one of the openings [3 so as to dispose the flexible member [5 in such position that when the user of the device moves his hands relative thereto in swinging a golf club in the normal and proper manner, the hands of the user will pass by the free end of the flexible member l5 much in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1. When the device has been so arranged the user grasps a golf club as Gin the accepted manner, and if desired a golf ball as B may be arranged beneath the arm I 4 to rest on the ground near the base H as shown in Fig. 1. The user then places the head of a golf club as G on the ground behind a golf ball as B and then the free end of the club as G is grasped in the hands of the user and the hands are desirably slightly spaced from the body of the user and also from the free end of the flexible member l5. In such an instance the hands of the user should be close to the body of the user so as to pass thereby when the golf club G is swung in the usual manner. In such circumstances, if the user tends to swing his hands outwardly from his body in the course of swinging the golf club as G, the hands of the user will strike the flexible member I5. When, however, the hands of the user pass close to the body of the user in the proper and desired manner, the hands will freely move past the free end of the flexible member l5, thus indicating to the user that his hands are moving across his body in the course of swinging of his golf club in the proper manner. It will be understood that it is not necessary that a ball as B be employed when the device of the present invention is being used for the club G may be located in proper position whether or not a ball as B is used, this being accomplished by resting the head of the golf club on the ground in the proper manner and thereafter disposing the hands of the user close to the body of the user and also in spaced relation with the free end of the flexible member l5.

In use it has been found that once a player ascertains the proper manner in which to grasp the golf club as G and avoids breaking the left arm at the elbow when a right-hand golfer swings will be apparent from the foregoing description that the device of the present invention enables have illustrated and described a preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that this is capable of variation and modification and I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details hereinabove set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as come within the ambit of the following claim.

I claim:

Adevice for use in the practice of a golf swing with a golf club which comprises an elongated support member adapted to be operatively positioned in upwardly extending position a predetermined distance in front of a person making a practice golf swing, and an arm having one end mounted on said supporting member, said arm projecting from said support member toward the person making the golf swing in such a manner that the other end thereof projects into the same horizontal plane as the hands of said person at the lower limit of the golf swing when said support member is in said operative position relative to said person when said person is making a proper golf swing with a golf club, said arm projecting from said support member in such a manner that when said person makes a proper golf swing with a golf club the hands of said person pass between said other end of said arm and the body of said person, and the shaft and club head of said golf club pass below said arm, and when said golfer makes an improper golf swing with a golf club, wherein the hands of said person are spaced at too great a distance from the body of said person, within predetermined limits, the hands of said person will strike said other end of said arm.

WARREN S. SEELEY, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Burgoyne et a1 Aug. 24, 1926 

